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The Gulf region's leading men's luxury lifestyle magazine. For men who understand that the true value of luxury is its foundation in knowledge. Not so much a website, but an indispensable guide to life.

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The Gulf region's leading men's luxury lifestyle magazine. For men who understand that the true value of luxury is its foundation in knowledge. Not so much a website, but an indispensable guide to life.

5 times luxury watches caused a political outcry

Owning a luxury watch is supposed to be one of life’s great pleasures. A right of passage even, for the discerning man.

But for politicians and public officials, luxury watches have become a career pitfall.

In today’s camera-phone ready, social media obsessed world, eagle-eyed viewers are hijacking well-considered photos opportunities, to point out expensive wrist wear as proof, so they say, of shady business and corruption.

Swipe through the slides to see five times luxury watches caused a political outcry.

Vitaly Milonov

Vitaly Milonov, a St Petersburg lawmaker, attempted to make a big patriotic statement at the end of last year, when he invited a film crew to capture him buying a Lada Vesta – a modest, Russian-made car.

Milonov forgot however, that on his wrist was a Swiss-made $10,000 Ulysse Nardin Maxi Marine watch, worth about the same, if not more than, his new car.

The real kicker was that Milonov bought the car on credit, paying for half upfront. Awkward.

Dmitry Peskov

A spokesman for Russian president Vladimir Putin, Peskov got married in August last year to champion figure skater Tatyana Navka. But it wasn’t the blushing bride or handsome groom that captured everyone’s attention – it was Peskov’s $400,000 Richard Mille watch.

The price of the RM 052 Tourbillon Skull – which we featured here in our article on skull watches – far exceeded his earnings as a civil servant, according to an opposition activist. Peskov claimed it was a wedding present from his wife. However he got it, no one can say he doesn’t have good taste.

Michel Platini

A man now banned from all football-related activities for eight years after being found guilty of breaches surrounding a $2 million disloyal payment, Platini drew the most criticism surrounding the ‘watch gift’ furore that erupted last year.

It centred around a $23,000 special-edition rose gold Parmigiani timepiece. It was believed to be a welcome gift from the Brazilian Football Confederation at the 2014 World Cup to all 28 members of Fifa’s executive committee.

Several executives returned the watch after Fifa said accepting them broke its code of ethics, including Sepp Blatter, apparently. But Platini refused, saying it would be against his upbringing. He said: “I'm a well-educated person. I don't return gifts.”

Abu-bakr Al-Baghdadi

The leader of the so-called Islamic State, Baghdadi appeared for the first time in July 2014, to give an address at Mosul’s Great Mosque.

While addressing his followers however, many on social media noticed that he was sporting a rather chunky and expensive looking watch, which looked suspiciously like an Omega Seamaster – valued at $5,000.

Whatever the make, the luxury watch caused controversy for being in contrast with the nature of his speech. Who knew the caliph had style?

Yang Dacai

The Chinese government official caused upset in 2012 when he was pictured smiling at the scene of a road accident. In anger, users of Sina Weibo, a Chinese social network, looked back through old images of Dacai, and realised in each image he was wearing a different luxury watch.

The outcry as to how he could afford so many high-end timepieces on a modest salary sparked the unravelling of Dacai’s career. The following year he was sentenced to 14 years in jail for corruption.

Subscribe to the magazine

The Gulf region's leading men's luxury lifestyle magazine. For men who understand that the true value of luxury is its foundation in knowledge. Not so much a website, but an indispensable guide to life.